Raiders 44, Rams 8
The Lindsay Thurber Raiders ran over the Lacombe Rams in the season opener of Central Alberta High School Football League play Friday.
On a snowy and cold night, Raiders quarterback Josh Campbell tossed four touchdowns and passed for 240 yards in the 44-8 victory at Great Chief Park.
“I was very happy with how it went. Huge shoutout to Will Moir who caught the majority of my passes and turned them into lots of yards,” Campbell said after the game.
“I was elated for my performance. It was unexpected.”
Moir had a monster night with 13 receptions for 164 yards and four touchdown catches. He also had an interception on defence.
“He didn’t play last year. He just had a tough time and couldn’t come out and play,” said Aaron Sheppard, Raiders head coach.
“He was a man against boys out there on the field today. When he gets on it, he’s hard to stop. He’s a humble kid too.”
Sheppard said it was a total team effort in the dominant victory.
“I was super proud of our guys. We had a challenge coming in, just with the whole building blocks of our program. Trying to rebuild. It’s one series at a time, one play at a time. Things go up and things go down, I just want to get better at the little things,” Sheppard said.
“I think we were considerably better on the offensive line. That has been a struggle the last few years … overall. Our wide receivers were driving guys 13 yards down the field on screens. Just overall happy. I challenged them with assignment football. Play 12 roles.”
Campbell found Moir three times for touchdowns in the first half, including 23 and 36-yard scores. Lindsay Thurber led 22-0 at the half.
Richard Jans finally got the Rams on the board with a 17-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter. Jans finished the game with six carries for 61 yards and Zach Schwab had 12 carries for 51 yards.
Raiders running back Kaidyn Puttick also had a huge game on the ground. He broke out a massive 65-yard touchdown scamper late in the third quarter to push over 100 yards rushing on the day. Puttick finished the game with 12 carries for 140 yards.
He also was a beast at linebacker with a pair of sacks.
“You have to have a running back in this league … he (also) was a man possessed on defence,” Sheppard added.
The win was the first in league play but the third of the season for the Raiders after a pair of non-conference wins.
On Sept. 28, the Raiders will take on the Hunting Hills Lightning at 7 p.m. at Great Chief Park.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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